State debate over budget set to start

Texas Legislature leaders on Monday gave the first glimpse of the state budget for the next two fiscal years, which they plan to present to the members of the House and the Senate as early as Tuesday.

And though the separate proposals from each chamber call for a slight increase on spending compared to the 2011 budget, when the lawmakers faced a $27 billion shortfall, their respective drafts also leave the deep cuts made to offset the deficit of two years ago.

Rep. Jim Pitts, chairman of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee — the first to unveil his proposal — said his House Bill 1 will appropriate $89.1 billion in general revenue and a total of $187.7 billion when all other funds are included.

Later in the day, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams said the upper chamber will counter with a slightly lower proposal that would address the rapidly-growing state needs. Senate Bill 1’s base budget is 1.8 percent above the based budget the chamber proposed in the 2011 session.

The legislative leaders say they are happy with the initial proposals.

“The filing of this budget will allow the House to formally begin a discussion about Texas’ priorities,” Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said in reference to HB 1, called the 2014-15 General Appropriations Act.

“This bill will allow the House to have an open, thorough and transparent debate about appropriate funding levels for education, infrastructure, and services for the citizens of this state,” Pitts said. “This bill recognizes the demands of population growth on public schools and Medicaid, and steadfastly maintains the House’s commitment to fiscal discipline.”

Williams, R-The Woodlands, said SB 1 also focuses on meeting the rapidly growing needs of the state.

“We begin this session with a budget which does not rely on dedicated accounts and is well within spending limits,” Williams said as Dewhurst, the presiding officer of the Senate, and Finance Committee vice-chairman Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, looked on.

Some members of the Texas Panhandle/South Plains delegation said they were encouraged with the sketchy details they heard Monday.

“As I read it, I think we’re on the right track,” said Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, a member of Williams’ panel.

“It makes me feel good that my thoughts are in line with the leadership,” said freshman Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian. King — who was president of the Canadian Independent School District’s board of trustees before unseating Plainview’s Rep. Jim Landtroop in the July 31 Republican primary runoff — campaigned on funding public education and on spending on infrastructure, particularly on the $53 billion state water plan and on roads.

In all, the separate proposals Pitts and Williams announced in general terms are a sharp contrast to two years ago, when one of the highlights was a recommendation to close Borger’s Frank Phillips College and three other community colleges in the state.

However, Democrats and advocacy groups were not happy with what they heard Monday.

“They are intent on making the cuts permanent,” said Houston’s Rep. Jessica Farrar, leader of the House Democrats.

Farrar said she anticipates a bitter fight on the House and Senate floors because “this is going to be the No. 1 issue for Democrats.”

The Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers was equally critical.

“The Texas House and Senate budget bills announced today would continue deep cuts in public education for another two years — in spite of the availability of resurgent state revenue that makes it possible to undo those damaging cuts,” Texas AFT President Linda Bridges said in a statement. “The best that can be said for today’s initial spending plans is that they are just the starting point, not the ending point, for writing the 2014-2015 budget.”

Although not necessarily agreeing with Bridges, Seliger also said that what SB 1 includes, for now, is just the recommendation from the Legislative Budget Board, the body that makes budget and policy recommendations for the Legislature.

“There will be additional money later on,” Seliger predicted. The budget negotiations begin in earnest in April and, as it happens every two years when the Legislature is in session, the State Comptroller is expected to give an update on the biennial revenue estimate in the spring.

In her report of a week ago, Comptroller Susan Combs said for the next two fiscal years the state is projected to have $101.4 billion for general purpose spending, a 12.4 percent increase compared to two years ago.